#shallan meta

[riverbeatsaber]

Hello all! Here's a Stormlight Archive observation I'd like to share. Shallan's coping mechanisms are not:

❌ Veil

❌ Radiant

Veil, Radiant, and headmates in general are actually people! How would you feel if someone called you a coping mechanism or an unhealthy coping mechanism, or implied or outright said that you were not real? Yes, Veil and Radiant are characters, but there are also systems who exist in real life and can hear how you talk about them.*

To be fair, I know that for the first two books, Brandon Sanderson himself was not writing Radiant and Veil as their own people, and there is an argument to be made that he never fully pivoted away from that, but I believe/hope that we as a fandom can do better than him.

In addition, what Shallan's coping mechanisms are, from my observation:

Drawing, to distract herself from things that are stressing her out.

Being a scholar, especially in the earlier books.

Dissociation, which, interestingly, in the flashback chapters seems to be fully blanking out for a while, and in current time is written more as active repression (maybe so that Shallan can just decide not to repress her memories and achieve Character Development more easily? Not sure.)

This is kinda a sneak peak of a giant character analysis of Shallan that I've been doing for a while. I got stuck writing down quotes in Oathbringer, but I've been picking it up again recently. I hope to be posting more thoughts from that in the future:]

*I am the host of one of those systems who see y'all posting. just to make it clear

[kaladinsspear]

Okay, so I get that Shallan stealing Kaladins boots was shitty and probably sucked for Kaladin, but I really feel that the fandom villanizes Shallan for it more than she deserves.

Shallan was absolutly alone and basicly running a con job trying to get herself to (possible) safety. She had no shoes. If anything happened, she had to way of running because she had no shoes. Maybe she could force herself to run barefoot, but that would rip up her feet and cause even more pain and impairment later. How terrifying must that be, to be a young woman utterly alone with dangerous men and women, and always know in the back of your mind that you physically cannot run.

So like, yeah, thats got to suck for Kaladin to have his shoes stolen, but he was riding a horse with men he trusted. Of the two of them, Shallan was in more danger at that moment and having shoes could mean the difference between death and escape in a worst case scenario.

I'm not saying to say Kaladin should be fine with it, he has every right to be furious. What Shallan did was disrespectful and humiliating. She abused her privilege and he paid the price. But she was trying to survive, not step on him.

I just think that if Shallan had pulled that move with a random side character and not Kaladin Stormblessed, the fandom would be a lot more understanding.

[thekingofwinterblog]

Thoughts on Brandon Sanderson and people who accuse him of writting "slop"?

that they are not entierly wrong.

Sanderson is a writer who writes both great, and bad things, but above everything else, he might be the most "Technical" writer alive.

He is capable of writing characters such as Wit, Kaladin, Raboniel... But he is also capable of writing characters such as Shalan, who in book 1 was boring beyond belief, book 2 was great but had one of the most headbanging moments of the franchise to let her win an argument, book 3 made tons of mistakes but only got called out on the ones she made because of good intentions(and not the ones like almost blowing an entire military operation due to a bad and spiteful joke), and book 4 was having a total mental breakdown that was not really earned from a story perspective.

The point im leading up to here, is that Shallan is technically, looking at her from exclusively a mechanical, story beat perspective, a perfectly functioning character... But other than book 2, i REALLY dont care about her storyline.

And that sums up Sanderson's bad qualities as a writer in a nutshell.

Brandon always understands how something works, how to mechanically set up a story, and then later pay it off, and that along with a pretty good writing capacity is usually enough to carry his stories to amazing heights... But when he fails to do that, when a story needed a bit more omph, than his decent but not brilliant writing was capable of mustering, it REALLY shows.

Shallan is the best overall example from the Stormlight archives, but it's not the only example, as i could list tons of others, but i would very much agree that when Sanderson doesnt manage to stick the landing on something, Slop is the PERFECT analogy for how to describe it.

Another example is mysteries.

Sanderson is not good as writing mysteries.

He LIKES mysteries, and it's clear he understands the technical spects of writing them, but he is not martin, where you can go back to book 1 and see how already at this early stage he is setting Bran up as the magical god-king of Westeros, and Dany as a woman with severe mental problems that probably should not be anywhere near a crown.

Sanderson's mysteries often boils down to us being told something new and interesting that recontextualises something old, rather than wondering about a question, then getting foreshadowing, and then a payoff.

Shallan is again a perfect example.

book 1. reveals at the end she killed a certain person. Came out of nowhere.

book 2. ending reveals how she did it, but also that she killed someone else.

book 3. she does a good thing, but this thing horribly backfires, but we get no hint of it doing so before the very ending of that storyline when there were plenty of space to hint at the twist before the reveals comes.

book 4. reveals she Killed ANOTHER person in her backstory.

None of these events are illogical... but NONE of them are handled with the kind of care to make the spectacular twists where you can go back and see how her backstory twists flows into another the way Martin might have.

Brandon's mysteries and reveals often work... but they are rarely outstanding. and when they are bad... They feel like Slop you gulp down to get to the much tastier desert(The character bits where he actually shines).

He has other problems as a writer as well, such as clear lack of confidence in many things(Shallan book 1 wouldnt be half as bad if he didnt constantly have characters tell us how witty she is, and her argument with Kalading during the Chasm period needs him to lose, so the man loses 20 IQ points or more to let her dominate him in debate), an ultimate lack of resolve of keeping Stormlight a medieval dark fantasy story with heroic characters(The same kind of dynamic that Dragon Age Origins, best RPG ever made had) and instead is slowly losing a lot of elements that kept it dark, while making it feel a lot more contemporary, but as these dont relate to the slop argument, i wont get too into those here.

[lost-boys-chapter]

personally I think my cosmere reread is the funniest bc at points I've forgotten so much it might as well be my first time reading it and at others I have such specifically detailed meta knowledge it's obvious it was my Main Interest for years. can't tell u if shallan ever steals jasnah's soulcaster but every herald wob is at the tip of my tongue

[cosmerelists]

If Cosmere Characters Had Brands Sponsoring Them...

As requested by anon. :)

Let's imagine a world--a perhaps terrible world--in which Cosmere characters have brand sponsorships. If it gives you chills, please blame the anon who requested it. ;)

1. Adolin

Shallan: Wow, looking sharp! Shallan: Is that a new outfit? Adolin: Yup! Armani sent me a whole bunch of suits. Adolin: Apparently that's all I'm gonna wear from now on! Shallan: That sounds a a bit dystopic but also you look REALLY good. Adolin: Ha ha yeah let's think about it no further!

2. Steris & Wax

Steris: Wax, thank goodness you're here. Wax: Whoa! Did you start on taxes without me? Steris: I promised HR Block I'd use their services so that they can promote themselves as the brand that "even Steris Harms trusts." Steris: But obviously we need to check their work. Wax: Yes--obviously. Wax: And after that, let's pour ourselves some glasses of Jack Daniel Whiskey--Make it Count. Steris: ... Wax: ... Steris: Why did we agree to this again?

3. Amaram

[Amaram offers Wit his hand] Wit: No thanks, I wouldn't want to get any of it on me. Amaram: Any of what? Wit: Whatever you use to keep your hands clean, my lord. It must be powerful stuff, indeed. Amaram: Seventy percent of pigs have cleaner hands than forty percent of humans, you knw. Wit: I...what? Amaram: And that little fact is brought to you...by Meta AI.

4. Tress

Tress: (muttering to herself): Well...we do like to go places... Charlie: Hey do you need some help with...whatever you're dong? Tress: Yes please! I'm trying to stick these posters all over Two Cups. Charlie: What's a Toyota? Tress: Not totally sure...but they are offering a lot of money...do you think it's okay? Charlie: Well...we do like to go places... Tress: That's exactly what I said!

5. Nightblood

Nightblood: Pleeeeaase....? Szeth: I will not plaster stickers all over you, sword-nimi. Nightblood: But the Google asked me to! Nightblood: And their motto is "Don't Be Evil"! Nightblood: It's perfect! Szeth: Actually, I believe they changed their slogan a while back. Nightblood: You mean they're...evil after all? Nightblood: New plan! Let's kill them all! Szeth: I don't think brand sponorships are for you, sword-nimi.

6. Vin

Vin: When I need to go fast... When I need to leap from roof to roof... When I need to murder entire keeps... Vin: There's no shoe I trust, other than Nike. Vin: Nike: Just Do It. Vin: ... Vin: Well, what do you think? I'm supposed to pitch an angle for the commercial tomorrow! Elend: I feel like the brand probably doesn't want you to mention murder. Vin: What? Then why'd they ask me?

7. Yumi

Yumi: Ha ha! Yumi: Wow, it's so easy to stack when you're using legos! Yumi: Relaxing...fun...colorful... Yumi: This was DEFINITELY the right brand to partner with! Painter: Yumi, the neighbors are starting to complain. Yumi: What? Why?? Painter: You're fourteen-story lego tower is blocking out the sun! Children are crying! I just heard someone whisper that the nightmares must be back! Yumi: I thought it'd be inspiring!

8. Kelsier

Kelsier: I have a secret... Kelsier: Secret brand deodorant!!! Kelsier: ... Kelsier: ...Are you SURE we need the money to fund the ghostbloods? Kaise (barely keeping a straight face): Oh, absolutely.

9. Moash

Moash: I think it is time to cover up my Bridge 4 tattoo. Odium: That's a great step forward--I'm proud of you. Moash: Yup, gonna replace it with this Grey Goose Vodka tattoo instead. Odium: ... Moash: What? Drinking helps a man forget...stuff. Moash: It's thematic for my character! Odium: You have a ways to go.

10. Kaladin

Dalinar: What has happened to us? Where is our honor? Kaladin: Honor is dead...But I'll see what I can do. [Kaladin hesitates and looks back at Dalinar] Kaladin: That cool one-liner is brought to you...by Redbull. Kaladin: Redbull gives you wings. Dalinar: ... Kaladin: ... Dalinar: ... Kaladin: Anyway I'll go save your sons now.

[nevertheless-moving]

STORMLIGHT ARCHIVE AU MASTERLIST

List will be updated with links if/when AUs develop For my Star Wars AU Masterlist: Please See Here As always, people are more than welcome to play with any of these ideas! just please link back to me so I can see! Seriously if you want to write stuff in any form with ideas from any of these aus I will love you forever! 1 to 20: Words of Radiance AUS 21 to 30: Non Words of Radiance AUs (note: these might also be WOR AUs) 31 to 40: Post Winds and Truth Wild Speculation (that may or may not also be a WOR AU)

1 to 20 Words of Radiance AUS

[EDIT, Previous #1 Now #28]

2. High oath Hesina willshaper aus. This is actually many many AUs because the "Mom??" Reveal is great in all contexts. Concept, WOK Era Outline, Brief Fanfic

3. Renarin asks Kaladin for help with radiant stuff during WOR. Secret training. Everyone thinks they're fucking. Chapter 1 and Outline/Meta

4. Elhokar drunk orders kaladin to bedchambers, begs for help keeping away nighmare creatures. Kaladin nearly kills him before scary spren realization, then goes into serious radiant mode when syl gets ambiguously concerned. Everyone thinks they're fucking.[Note: I might be too easily entertained by this trope]. Kaladin is deeply pained by this but also has  people saving thing and really doesnt want to reveal the radiant thing to the whole camp. Earlier third oath. Eventual fucking optional, see above au, except with a bit more pity than vibeing for option a.

5. Crack. AUs 3, 4, and 9 at same time so people just think Kaladin is the Kholin Rhysadium. Bridge 4 offers government overthrow if he's being pressured. kaladin assures them that's not it. Now people keep trying to high five him. Kaladin with head in hands while Moash snarks over his shoulder "you know when i said fuck the lighteyed i didn't -" Kaladin definitely asexual in this one.

6. Hesina and lirin come to shattered planes, shocked/thrilled/emotional to find kaladin. Bridge 4 desperately trying to get approval of [bugs bunny meme our] parents. Lirin reluctantly adopting renarin who wants to learn about healing now for some reason. Blackthorn surgeon mutual loathing/ jealousy son swap hilarity. Lirin is having a time. 

7. Kaladin wasn’t on guard duty the night of szeth arrival. Still warned by syl about assassin, but has to dead sprint while glowing to get across camp fast enough, soft reveal to anyone outside. Only barely figures out wall running on the way over to crash in window just in time. Szeth freaks out and runs away after very short, mildly anticlimatic interaction. And now Kaladin has to deal with Everyone.

8. Kaladin further along in powers during initial szeth fight. Battle of champions degrading to slap fight when they run out of stormlight and get stuck on the plains. Concept/ Ask, Funny Severed Leg

9. Manufactured rumors about adolin/ kaladin. Effective political mudslinging for most of WOR. Shallan plays up things about her relationship with Jasnah to be a more appealing beard. [Previous #9 Is Now #33]

10. Kaladin has a meltdown in prison, breaks out of his cell. Just a little bit more stormlight...Shouts of alarm. Aaah glowing Assassin in white! Kaladin panics more. Adolin handles the situation like a champ. Kaladin maybe briefly kidnaps him.

11. Nale goes after kaladin instead of lift. Ohhh so many thoughts for parallels.

12. Syl immediately dive bombs pattern when kaladin and shallan meet. Really early radiant reveal but just to each other. Kaladin does not trust her but doesn't want to reveal his own status so just watches her super intensely...since she's also constantly watching him too, yes, this gets misinterpreted. See au 3 through 5 but more discreet. Veil is the one draggng him from the barracks for late night 'training sessions' [these are actually training sessions but veil flirts outrageously with kaladin when anyones in earshot. So.] that distracts things a bit.

13. Adolin, suspicious after the Assassin in White fight, was secretly following kaladin at night. Sees him step off a ledge into a chasm (I just reread the section and was like?! You glanced over your shoulder once?!). Adolin spends the whole night stewing in regret, anger, grief, guilt (I was there. I could have yelled. Should have done something. I didn't realize...I didn't know. I didn't know anything). Next morning Kaladin is on guard duty and adolin flips his shit, suddenly remembering that the whole reason he was suspicious of this guy was because he inexplicably survived a several hundred foot drop.

14. Kaladin barely manages to hold it together just long enough to out himself as radiant right after prison. Part One, Part two

15. Kaladin does NOT hold it together after getting arrested.

16. Kaladin swears third oath early. Next few weeks involve a lot of hiding glowing bridgeman squire antics and gaslighting people about kaladin's intermittently light eyes.

17. In the initial confrontation with Szeth, Kaladin pushes a bit harder about the radiants being back, Szeth spirals a bit more, crashing realization that he isn't truthless...

17a.  Earlier radiant reveal: szeth surrenders the honor blade and then immediately collapses into the ground. Kaladin drags him and the blade upstairs. Has to reveal himself now because 1) kaladin what the fuck how and 2) the assassin is mumbling about radiants. 17b ANGST: szeth surrenders the honor blade and immediately kills himself with kaladin's weapons. Kaladin takes honorblade, collapses on way back because it's draining his stormlight, maybe messing with sylbond. When he wakes up hes injured, surrounded by lighteyes and a handful of his men...handles it badly because Very Specific Shardblade Winning Trauma. Crazy two nickles moment. Downside: cries a lot in front of people he'd rather not have cried in front of. Upside: dalinar believes him about amaram now. Public windrunner powers, but obscured Radiant reveal because glowing assassin sword is very clearly granting magic powers. Weird interactions of honorblade bond and nahel bond. Lot of interesting fallout from Dalinar having his very own Mystical Assassin now.

18. Kaladin sends Syl to spy on the 'horneater princess', one sided radiant discovery. When she sends pattern to spy on bridgeboy, he somehow notices. Shallan does not handle it well. 

19. Something something people put together all the impossible stuff Kaladin's done with all the impossible stuff the Blackthorn did as a youth, combined with one of bridge four drunkenly talking about their best theories for the Captains 'mysterious backstory,' combined with Dalinar literally calling Kaladin son and seemingly overnight the warcamps are convinced that Kaladin is Dalinar's bastard child.

20. (COLLABORATIVE with @gnecrognomicon) Instead of being thrown in prison, Elhokar orders Kaladin be strung up for the Stormfather's judgement. Part One, Part Two

21 to 30 Non Words of Radiance AUs

22. Way of kings au where the beggars of alethkar are rounded up for the war effort. Jezrian, of course, ends up on bridge four.

23. Kaladin time travel au to way of kings only the transition is a bit like a spren going through the cognitive to material realm transfer. Not all there. Heartwarming bridge four bonding slightly to the left - sure the mans crazy but he just looks so...disappointed when we dont help with the injured, and he shares his food like an idiot. How does someone seven foot tall and stronger than a chull make axehound pup eyes. We're not following him though. He's not our lead - holy heralds balls is he glowing??  Bit more of a symbol than a friend, but a symbol that you take turns holding at night because he has such bad nightmares and also hes clingy. 

24. COLLABORATIVE / stone soup with @sweetteaanddragons : adolin and kaladin time travel to way of kings. Kaldin brooding about how to escape AND save all his men AND the world until adolin barges in and buys everyone. 

'Thank the almighty,' Kaladin thought with almost painful relief, watching Adolin argue haughtily with a growing swarm of Thadeus's lighteyes. 'I never thought I'd actually appreciate having a rich friend.' He would, of course, rather die than admit this. "I had it handled," he growled, when the two finally managed to speak inconspicuously, each weaving amongst a thousand confused former bridgeman, speaking quietly with several, until they were able to meet in the middle with reasonable subtlety, all things considered. "That's great, Kal," Adolin said cheerfully, clearly not buying a word. "Say, how would you feel about doing some, you know..." He waved a hand, earning a raised eyebrow from Kaladin. "Glowy stuff for my Father," his voice dropped from a subtle hush to a slightly conspicuous whisper. "So he doesn't disinherit me. I did not have permission for this."  Both pairs of eyes flicked to the side, the Blackthorn's towering figure approaching like a Stormwall. "Uh. Sooner rather than later perhaps."

26. Oathbringer/row au. Adolin doesn’t kill sadeus. Mostly just excuse to dunk on Sadeus for trading one (1) shardblade for mythical warrior who can make his own shardblade. oh look more of your former slaves are glowing now. and THEY make shardblades too!

27. Elhokar and Kaladin time travel from Elhokar's death in oathbringer to way of kings. Part one, Part Two

27B. Elhokar solo time travels back from Oathbringer death to Way of Kings

28. Moash tells kaladin about beef with elokhar early. This derails the entire plot of the series. [EDIT, This au was previously #1, before I abruptly realized it was WOK, Not WOR]

31 to 40 Post Winds and Truth Wild Speculation

31. Szeth kaladin pity fuck time travel au words of radiance. Bridge four roasts the shit out of kaladin. Kaladin is doing everything in his power to avoid implying "knowledge of future" which makes the timeline of their relationship deeply confusing.

32. Szeth kaladin time travel au post book 5, they get their memories back in the high storm right before canon first meeting. Szeth sort of stumbles in, halfheartedly attempting a confused assassination.

33. [EDIT: Previously AU Number 9] Kaladin time travel back to wor, book 5 gone wrong. Deeply terrifying from outsider pov. Captain of the Kholin guard, bridgefour leader, is suddenly Full fourth oath windrunner talking about how humans are the voidbringers, they actually need to support the parshendi in bringing one last controlled desolation, and then kill the heralds and also god. Don't worry not our god. Different god. Our god is already dead. If someone else travels back with him then it swings around to a lil bit funny.

34. Post winds and truth, pre sunlit man, crossover with the twilight of mistborn era 2 (i think the cosmere timeline could make sense but if not, oh well). Kaladin gets a boon from his god(s). Requests to learn more about mental health. Has to go to another planet to do so, because mental health research on Roshar sucks. Scadrial's god seems (relatively) friendly and their planet has developed antidepressants AND wellness seminars. Shenanigans with Very Old Wax and the gang.

35. Jasnah, Dalinar, and Renarin (surviving Kholin Radiants) travel from End of World to right after Gavilar's death. Crack. Outline

All of the above (plus other fandoms if you keep scrolling back) will be tagged with 'my au' The above, plus my canon stormlight and other cosmere meta, technically canon compliant fanfic drabbles, or other things that i've written but don't fit in an au will be tagged 'nevertheless cosmere'

[hahahahawk]

A Pattern

Words of Radiance re-read

I feel dumb as a cremling for not realizing until now that every book in the stormlight archive series is named after a literal book that exists in-world.

I’ve previously been annoyed that book 1 is called Way of Kings even though Kaladin’s story would make more sense titled “words of radiance”.

At the moment I’m having trouble remembering the supposed contents of both (in-universe) Words of Radiance and Oathbringer. Truthfully, I’m not 100% sure Oathbringer *is* an in-universe book. I thought it was Dalinar’s shardblade.

*checks the wiki* ok, it’s both his shardblade and his memoir. If pressed, that’s what I would have guessed.

And I suppose we’ll circle back to the contents of (in-universe) WoR soon enough in the book. Overall, the idea is cute and quirky, but I wish that WoK had a better connection to Kaladin. Though I guess that RoW isn’t Navani’s book either. It just feels out of step since WoR and Shallan are directly associated, as are Oathbringer and Dalinar.

***

I’m also bummed that the Book of Endless pages disappeared from the story.

Though I did think it was a magic book that Jasnah was giving to Shallan for her to sketch in, not anything (mundane and) religious.

***

When Syl (I think) talked about being uncomfortable with Cryptic spren, I thought she was just being snotty, that calling them liespren was a mild slur. (Or am I thinking of Jasnah talking to Shallan about Shadesmar/types of spren? Anyway, *someone* expressed those ideas)

But in this chapter it really struck me how Pattern *does* lie and engage in deceitful behavior. At several points he hides information from Shallan about her own past. In this chapter Pattern tries to hide his belief that Shallan will kill him, and they have a meta-conversation about him trying/learning to lie. And in RoW he executed the huge deception of communicating with Hoid behind Shallan’s back while they’re in Shadesmar.

It’s a shocking situation, since you’d think the Nahel bond would join beings so purely that lying between human and spren would be unthinkable. Adding on to that the contrast with Syl, who makes honesty a strict condition of her bond with Kaladin.

Sure, Syl is an honor spren and Patten is vehemently not, but it just seems like the nahel bond is a kind of intimacy that would preclude deception.

mmmmmmmmm! Fascinating!!

Does being a lightweaver mean you have to build a completely different kind of trust with your spren than most Radiants?

***

I have other thought about what Shallan is getting up to, but seems like it happens in her next (contemporary) chapter, so I’ll withhold my commentary until then.

[kainekron]

I know we all really like to speculate about hoid's stories and what they mean from meta perspective and a lore perspective, but I think he told the stories to convey a specific idea to the characters I am shaky on two and better with two so let me give you what I think

The wandersail: obviously from meta perspective it could be about the recreance or ashen a lot of lore stuff. But I think the reason he told him that the was to try to communicate to him that this senseless cruelty happening to him is happening for a reason or unexcused effectively

Fleet: we like to look at this story from meta angle and help what it means to Kaladin and his future but I think Hoid told him that to basically tell him to stop struggling against the light eyes that this will only lead to his death that he won't be able to do any meaningful change which is kind of depressing and I hope there's another reason

The girl who looked up: obviously from a meta perspective this could be a lot it could be about Hoid and what he did it could be about the history of roshar it could be some even deeper lore. But I think Hoid told this to shallan to tell her that all of this pushing all of this self-discovery she's going through even if it's painful we'll give her something beautiful a more completed version of herself

The dog and the dragon: obviously hey Kaladin stop being so down about yourself look at all the shit you did you did alot

Obviously I could be wrong about all of this Sanderson has no intention of giving any of these stories in world meaning or maybe I just completely missed the meanings after my seven different rereads

[rainbowfractals]

First art in about 4 years. The reason her hair and eyes look weird was because I started out sketching then puting colour. I realised quickly erasing the pencil hair then using coloured pencils made more sense, But I'd already started. I couldn't get the pen to work over the eyes, which are light blue though image quality is bad so you might not be able to see that. I forgot how to draw faces so I used some tutorials. I used for monolid eyes but they did I think where they faded it a lot so I kind of skipped that not knowing how to replicate it and it didn't come out right. I tried to re do it but eventually kept the last attempt as why I have thick paper I didn't wnat to be endlessly erasing and rerasing. Its kind of out of proportion. This is meant to be Shallan, in that fashion plate havah though pink and gold not black. I wanted to go for a differnet colour than blue or green for Shallan fanart, I don't have any purple coloured pencils which work, orange or red would clash with the hair, I wanted a bright colour so I went with pink. Though I did a few red panels, which the skirt flares out. I 'm going buy some good art suppiles and get back into this again. I forgot how much I missed it. Last time I did a face. Not a cartoon face but trying to draw a realistic face was 8 almost 9 years ago now. My sketchbook had dust on it when I went to get out and had to wipe it off. I dug out of a pile with my old books most of which are dusty and shoved away. So yeah. That's all for now. I have a meta for Renarin which I haven't figured out how to end. I menat to have it poste d neraly 2 weeks ago, I'll get to that in time.

This is fashion plate by Dan Dos Santos. I think I'll try doing some of the other ones later.

[ultimateknightbattle]

Here is the bracket! Polls will be up shortly and will be linked below

Group 1:

Victoria Grieve vs Keladry of Mindelan

Black Knight vs Batman

Fright Knight vs Karkat Vantas

Undyne vs Ballister Blackheart

Lan Madragoran vs Ambrosius Goldenloin

Duncan the Tall vs Gideon Nav

Haurchefant Greystone vs Blue Knight

Link vs Morpho Knight

Group 2:

Meta Knight vs Jenkins/Galahad

Brienne of Tarth vs Kris Dreemurr

Joan of Arc vs Elton John

Jane vs Ogrim

WelsKnight vs Fierce Dryya

Kaladin Stormblessed vs The Knights Who Say Ni

Galavant vs Shovel Knight

Prideknights vs Emma Swan

Group 3:

Galacta Knight vs Shallan Davar

Davos Seaworth vs Terry Pratchett

Damien vs Orym

Shrek vs Sonic

Gillion Tidestrider vs Dave Strider

Jasnah Kholin vs Modeus

Lancelot vs Ceruledge

Caroline vs Ian Chesterton

Group 4:

Fredrick vs Alanna

Gawain vs Knight Cookie

Jaime Lannister vs Jean

Dalinar Kholin vs Solaire of Astora

Geralt of Rivia vs Utena

Artoria Pendragon vs Obi-Wan Kenobi

Pearl vs William Thatcher

Papyrus vs The Knight

[kingjasnah]

K but like. Who's sitting around listening to hoid tell a story for five hours straight. Why wasn't design part of the narration. Which stormlight book is gonna be named after in-world story yumi and the nightmare painter

i know u are joking but it really DOES feel roshar specific right? like where im at there was one reference to scadrial in the narration but everything else has been off roshar. hm.

ok so im not even halfway through yumi and im expecting a couple more clues as to who the audience is (though i didnt see that many in tress ://// idk) but i still feel like the big contenders are sigzil, shallan, or khriss. honestly all the little comments in tress, like the line about keeping track of what metals everything is made of, made me think that it IS actually supposed to be us listening in in this meta way but if sanderson said there's a designated listener....right now my money is on khriss. just because of the way he's throwing around realmatic theory terms. sigzil would be a good full circle thing as he's a graduated worldsinger and the implications with ssp4. shallan however is someone who i still think is going to be thee hoid successor of the series and it someone who CAN wrap her head around connection and realmatic theory. it's just that khriss already knows her shit but then again, likes hoid a hell of a lot less than the other two and may be hard pressed to sit around listening to hoid tell a story for five hours ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ hope we find out

[trishyeves]

What kind of Magic player would a bunch of the Stormlight characters be? (Including psychographic profiles)

Kaladin: Only plays because his friends talked him into it, mainly does Commander, Two-Headed Giant, and Emperor. Mainly plays Blue-White, is a Timmy but he hides how fun it is to play because he cannot let anyone know when he is enjoying himself

Shallan: Very much a Vorthos. Keeps up to date on Magic storyline stuff, though only really knows the last five to ten years of events. Enjoys making decks around characters and settings she particularly likes, though she’s also quite the Jenny when it comes to making jank decks

Adolin: Hides among his friends as though he is a Timmy, but when he goes to a tournament he reveals his true Spike self. Absolutely ruthless, excellent win record, though he frequently does so be defying the meta and going with alternate strategies

Dalinar: Old school player, not only used to play in Type 1 and Type 2 formats, but also played before those formats even existed. Still complains about rule changes from Fifth Edition, is utterly confounded by where the game has gone since his time actively playing. Used to be a hardcore Spike, but on the rare occasions he still plays it’s as a Timmy

Jasnah: Uninterested in tournaments and largely eschewing more casual games as well, Jasnah seems to outsiders to mainly just be a Jenny who enjoys the mental stimulation of building an interesting deck. Those who dig deeper learn that when it comes to card appreciation, she is very much a Mel, but she also has an almost encyclopedic knowledge of the lore. She can and will talk about how she would like Commodore Guff to get a Planeswalker card

[moiraineswife]

how about: HOGWARTS HOUSES for Stormlight Archive characters

dammit i am ALWAYS here for Hogwarts house headcanons. This is gonna be long bc, like, I take this sorting thing Seriously. But really, it’s just an excuse to do a bit of deep character meta and I am ALL ABOUT THAT SHIT. I got deeply carried away. I don’t even care. I’m not even a smidge sorry. I live for this. And I had a lot of thoughts/feelings abt the Stormlight characters. 

Kaladin - Hufflepuff: Kaladin is a fucking hatstall, right. I can be tempted by all of them, and I think my impulse instinct says either Gryffindor, or perhaps Ravenclaw. But, actually, I think I want to put him in Hufflepuff? He definitely has some Gryffindor tendencies and motives, and I think there’s a decent-sized pinch of Ravenclaw in there, too, but his heart is all Puff to me. I think, at his core, Kaladin is using Ravenclaw/Gryffindor methods to fulfil his Hufflepuff ideals. He’s a protector. He’s very concerned with right, and wrong. He’s loyal af, too. And he cares. He cares so deeply and it kills me. And I just...I need badass Hufflepuff Kal, okay? 

I don’t think Kaladin has ever wanted to be a great man. I don’t think he’s ever wanted to go down in history, or to be remembered. He rejects the title ‘Stormblessed’, he allows it, but he doesn’t thrive in it in the army, the army he joined so that his brother wouldn’t have to go to war alone. 

I don’t even think Kaladin wants to be a hero. 

I think he just wants to do what he feels is right. I think he just tries to be a good person. 

He’s undoubtedly dedicated, and undoubtedly patient. I think he takes the most pride in nurturing things. He sees the potential in others, and I think he tries to give them ability to grow into it. He wants to save lives, and his preference for doing that is in being a surgeon. 

He’s grown up watching his father be isolated from his community to an extent. He’s seen him receive no money, no glory, no praise, no real reward from others for helping and saving them. He won’t be remembered in history books. He doesn’t even really get thanked by the people he labours to help, not overtly, at least. 

The biggest tension in Kal’s backstory is the decision he has to make between being a soldier, and being a healer. I think the motivation behind both of them remains the same: Kaladin the healer, Kaladin the soldier, Kaladin the slave: they all want to help people, they all want to save the lives of everyone they can. 

And I think the decision that Kal finally makes, the choice to become a surgeon, highlights the Hufflepuff in him. He chooses the quiet path. He turns his back on the glory, the adventure, the heroism implicit in becoming a soldier. He rejects that life and he chooses one he’s seen for himself to be one of quiet servitude. He chooses to do his best every day, whether or not that’s ever recognised or praised. 

He chooses the patient, quiet, unassuming path.The path that will require patience, and dedication, and hard-work. He gets forced down the path of being a soldier, and dragging up those old tensions and issues. But at the end of the day I think what matters is truly and purely just doing the right thing, helping people, regardless. 

And I think, through everything, this is the core aspect of himself that he retains: 

He gathers young soldiers to them, and protects them. He stops them dying in this battle, fully aware that they’ll likely die in the next one, or the one after, or the one after. 

He tries to save the man in the slave wagon with a cough from death, even though he’s a slave, and will likely die when they reach their destination, or soon afterwards, anyway. 

This is the man who looks at a group of slaves who’ve all literally been condemned to death and decides that he’s going to save them. He’s going to keep them alive. He’s going to heal their wounds, and save their lives, just so they can go back to running bridges and dying the next day anyway. 

This is a man who continually picks and fights unwinnable battles not because it will gain him any glory, not because it’ll make him a hero, not because he’ll be remembered, not because he’s brave, but because it’s the goddamn right thing to do. 

Shallan - Ravenclaw: Shallan is another tricky one (actually they kind of all are? None of them are super, instant clear-cut. Well, except maybe Adolin, but he’ll have his turn in a minute). 

There’s a lot of Ravenclaw in there, naturally. Her thirst for knowledge, her creativity, her originality, her out-of-the-box thinking are all Ravenclaw.

 But there’s a good bit of Slytherin in there too, I think. I always get stuck on characters who are just consumate, against-all-the-odds survivors. Who just grit their teeth and find their way to make it through any way they can just screams Slytherin to me. And Shallan has that survivor-tenacity in spades. Her Lightweaving lends itself towards Slytherin too, I think, the manipulation/cunning aspect of it. 

I think, though, I’m going to go with Ravenclaw for Shallan. At her core I think is the desire to understand - whether that’s the world around her, the people in it, or even herself. She’s got that deep thirst for knowledge, her creativity. I think she’s mostly defined around those attributes. So she’s like, Ravenclaw motivations with Slytherin methods (and I always lean towards the motivations when sorting). 

I also don’t think she wants to be the way her Slytherin side comes out. In a different life, I don’t think she’d have that same kind of cunning that she has. But I think she’s always going to be a budding scholar. She’s always going to be an artist. She’s always going to have that quirky, out-of-the-box way of looking at life. And I also think, given the choice, she’d choose Ravenclaw. 

Jasnah- Slytherin: I think on the surface, Jasnah seems easy to sort. People just sort of impulse ‘Ravenclaw’ bc of the scholar in her and then move on. But I enjoy being contrary. 

She’s kind of like the other side of Shallan’s coin, I feel. She’s got Ravenclaw and Slytherin in her, but in her case, I think the Slytherin traits present more strongly, I think they motivate her more, and I think they’re parts of her that she accepts, even prides, and encourages, where Shallan tries to suppress. 

Jasnah is a scholar. Like Shallan she’s drawn to collect knowledge about all sorts of things. The difference with her, though, is the way in which she and Shallan see that knowledge. Shallan sees it as a treasure, as a thing worth pursuing purely for its own merit and value, she just wants the knowing for the knowledge’s sake. 

Jasnah sees knowledge as a weapon. I’m pretty fully convinced of this, tbh. I think she looks at every piece of knowledge that she has, analyses it, evaluates it, and then wonders what she can do with it. History will help her understand the past, its people. Her current line of study is in the Parshendi, who assassinated her father, and then plunged them into war. Oh, and she’s also trying to prevent an apocalypse. She’s searching for knowledge, she’s searching for understanding, but she’s also searching for weakness. 

I think there’s also a fair amount of ambition and drive in Jasnah. I don’t think you get to the level she is, and attain the amount of respect she has, as a scholar and a person, unless there’s some ambition in you.

I think Jasnah also...I think anything she does she wants to be the best at. I don’t think she’s capable of doing things by halves. If she’s doing something, she’s going to excel at it. She doesn’t do things casually, or idly, it’s not in her nature. If she does something, she dedicated, she’s driven, and she’s determined. 

There’s also a decent bit of cunning in Jasnah. I think it gets sort of...underplayed/not considered too much because she’s so cool and rational about everything. And I think the word ‘cunning’ tends to make us think of selfishness, and self-serving. But Jasnah definitely is cunning. The opening of WoR shows that: she’s got bloody underground contacts with assassins, and she makes it clear she’s willing to use them. She also bribes them to not target her family/to warn her if there is a threat to someone she cares about which is...Genius. 

The entire confrontation in the alley with the men she kills with her soulcaster is also pure cunning. She knew precisely what she intended to do. She lured those men to that spot, she manipulated them into thinking that they were harmless, and then she killed them. That’s all pure cunning, and it’s also pure Slytherin. 

That scene I think summarises the core of Jasnah’s character for me tbh. It shows how she weaponises both her knowledge (of soulcasting, for one thing, but also about people), and her abilities. It’s an obvious, instant, display of her sense of morality. I think it hints at the survivor in her, a thread of her is unravelled in that scene, and it’s going to get tugged on and expanded out at a later date I’m sure of it. It’s also a demonstration of her cool, rational brand of cunning and manipulation.  

Her being a heretic totally fits with this too. There’s that headstrong determination to know her own mind, and to practice it, regardless of how others feel about it. That idea of rule-breaking being a Slytherin trait is definitely at play here. Jasnah plays by no-one’s rules but Jasnah’s. 

So. Yes. I will die by Slytherin!Jasnah tbh. Like u can fight me on this, I will fight u. 

Alssooo I’m getting aware I’m wiffling even more than usual, so, to spare u all, the rest are going under a cut. Ur welcome. 

Dalinar- Gryffindor: The exchange of Oathbringer is, I think, like the soulcaster scene with Jasnah, is one of the biggest character moments for Dalinar, and I think it argues the whole point point rather well: 

Dalinar exchanges this iconic, unparalleled, incredible weapon, for the lives of a group of men most consider worthless. 

Dalinar smiled, wrinkle lines extending from the corners ofhis eyes. “Coincidentally, that is the exact value of a Shardblade. So today,you and your men sacrificed to buy me twenty-six hundred priceless lives. Andall I had to repay you with was a single priceless sword. I call that abargain.”

I think this is totally and completely genuine. I think he really and truly means this. And I think that, in understanding that, you understand Dalinar. He’s The Blackthorn. He’s a powerful, iconic, incredible warrior. But this is why he fights. This is what he truly values. This is who he truly is; who he truly wants to be. 

There are a lot of other things thrown in there too, his loyalty, his views on right and wrong, his striving to be not a great man, but a good one. And I think this is what’s at his core. He’s undoubtedly brave, undoubtedly courageous. He’s noble, and honourable. And this is what he calls honour. This what upholding his honour means. It means leaving no man behind. Valuing each and every single life. Saving them all. Protecting them all. That’s what gives him his courage, and his bravery, and his honour. That’s what he lives for. 

Adolin- Gryffindor: I feel like Adolin is the only character who hasn’t given me a fucking headache in this post (what a good soul). The boy’s a Gryffindor. Honestly. All that boldness. All that bravery. All that courage. All that daring. He’s literally the poster-boy for Gryffindor house, bless him.

Adolin ‘Fight Me’ Kholin.  

Really, though. Adolin is such a good, strong heroic character. His motto in life is ‘courage first, consequences later’. I think he does what needs to be done. I think he’s very principled, and has very strong convictions and ideas on what has to be done, and what doesn’t. (*cough* Sadeas *cough*)

And I think he has more than just battle courage (though he obviously has spades of that). But I think he also has the courage to stand up for what he believes in. The courage to stop and say ‘no’ when he thinks something is unfair. The courage to stand up to his superiors when he disagrees with them. The courage to take a stand and make his thoughts known. And I think he has the courage to know when to stop fighting, when to put down his blade, when to save a life, rather than taking one.

I also think, and this is perhaps straying into the bounds of headcanon land, but I think that Adolin is one of those people who understands what true courage is. I think he’s someone who can get to the point of complete and utter terror, and have the strength of will to grit his teeth and be get things done. He’s a good lion boy, and he’s doing his best.

Renarin-Gryffindor: 

My beautiful little autistic sprout

In so many ways Renarin seems opposite to his brother and his father. They’re both shardbearers, both warriors. They’re both defined by their loud, bold bravery on the battlefield, at court, in pretty much everything they do. They’ve got big voices, and big personalities, and big hearts, and that’s all so very obvious. 

I think Renarin lives in their shadows, almost. But I think that he’s just as brave as they are, and I actually think that kind of courage actually defines him? Renarin kind of strikes me as a Neville-like Gryffindor? No-one is really quite sure why he’s there. No-one really sees his courage, or his strength, least of all himself. But it’s there. It’s been there every moment of every day. 

Renarin just has a quiet courage, and a quiet strength. He’s not got the big voice, or the big personality of his father or his big brother, but he’s definitely got the heart, and he’s definitely got the courage. 

There’s always been a little bit of rebellion in Renarin. For years people have been nudging him, gently but firmly, towards the Ardents. They encourage him to settle down, to indulge in scholarly pursuits. They think that’s what he is, where he’ll be happier, where he’ll be more comfortable. And for all those years, Renarin has had the courage to say no. 

And I think that does take courage. It takes courage not to do the easy thing, which is to simply give up, and meekly allow himself to take the easy road. Renarin isn’t a born warrior, isn’t a natural fighter. But he has the bravery and the strength to push back and say no, this isn’t who I am, this isn’t who I want to be, when people try to usher him towards the Ardents. It takes courage to maintain that rebellion, to keep saying no, this isn’t me, this isn’t what I want to be, especially when he doubts himself quite as much as anyone else. But he keeps going all the same. 

Renarin, I think, is afraid. I think he’s afraid every day. It’s a quiet fear, to match his quiet strength, but it’s there. He’s insecure, and uncertain. He doesn’t quite know himself. He doesn’t fully know his place in the world. He’s a misfit. His brother and father are strong, gallant, heroic warriors and then there’s him. And I think it takes courage to be an outsider in that way. It takes courage to know, every day, that you don’t fit, that people whisper behind your back, that they feed your own insecurities. He’s not as good as his father or his brother, yet he’s always by their sides. He’s always there, in the limelight, where he’s expected to be, and he doesn’t allow himself to be hidden away, or to hide himself away. He has the courage to believe in himself. To believe, somewhere, deep down, in his value, in his potential. He has the courage to defy the whisperers and the gossips and the ones that say he’s not brave, not strong, not really anything.  

He goes to Kaladin, and he asks to be a part of Bridge Four, and I don’t think people fully understand the courage that requires for him. Because this isn’t just him doing something a little bit odd, and more than a little bit against tradition and everyone’s expectations, which is brave in itself. This is him opening himself up for ridicule from pretty much every side. This is him isolating himself even more than he already is. This is him going against his father’s will. Going against tradition. Going against everything his status demands from him. But it’s also him going perhaps the one place he’ll fit even worse than the place he already does. 

Dalinar and Adolin respect and, most importantly, accept Renarin. They go out of their way to understand him, (which I will likely yell abt at a later point bc yes, good, this is the kind of rep we need. But that is not a debate for here). But they’re his family. They love him, they’re used to him. They understand, if not completely, at least a heck of a lot better than anyone else, what happens when he stims, when he becomes overwhelmed/meltsdown. They understand how he communicates/how he processes things. They understand when he goes nonverbal and needs a little time to himself. They understand, and so they accept, they include. 

And Renarin turns his back on that. He steps out of his comfort zone in the biggest way possible. He goes to this group of people and he asks to train with them. He’s the only lighteyes in a group of darkeyed former slaves. He’s outright mistrusted by some (looking at u Moash), and even if he’s respected by the others, he’s never accepted. They aren’t natural around him. They won’t talk around him, they act awkwardly and uncomfortably around him, they won’t fully include him, they think that he’s strange, and they don’t understand him or accept him. 

He stands out in Bridge Four more than he will ever stand out anywhere. And he knows that this is what’s going to happen. He knows that he’s joining a group where he will be more different, and more of an outsider than anywhere he’s ever been in his life. He knows he won’t be accepted. He knows he’ll also likely be mocked and talked about by the nobility for mingling with the kinds of Bridge Four and reducing himself to their level. 

But he does it anyway. He refuses to let the bridgemen’s attitudes dissuade him. He refuses to let himself be talked out of it. He goes back to them. he keeps going back. Despite their attitudes, despite not being included, despite being even more isolated, despite the disapproval and mistrust and dislike pouring in from every angle, he keeps going back. 

And like, idk about u, but that screams ‘courage’ to me. 

Oh and then there’s the whole ‘jumps into arena to defend my older brother against trained, skilled shardbearers bc ‘yolo’ kind of courage. He ticks that box, too. In case u were wondering. 

Anyway, yes, give me smol, shy, awkward little Gryff Renarin. Who becomes a Gryffindor and everyone sniggers behind their hands and says he’s just trying to be his father/his brother, something he’ll never be. And he bears it all. Because somewhere inside he knows the truth. He knows that a part of him maybe does just want to be like his father and his brother. But a bigger part of him knows that, deep down, this is truly who he is, this is where he truly belongs. There’s potential in him, and he has the courage to chase it, even if no-one else does. 

Okay the rest I either don’t have as strong Thoughts about, or I’m really not sure enough about them to put them in a certain place one way or the other. And also this is ridiculously long because I have 0 fucking self-control and also I am Tired*. So, in short, we’re going to cut things off here. If u made it this far: well done u, i don’t think i would have, god bless ur sweet soul. 

*I 100% reserve the right to come back to the rest later and bore u all to death again with my intensive waffling. 

[phendorana]

ok lit crit hat is on and today i wanna talk about *spins wheel* model minorites and marginalized anger in words of radiance! if we look at kaladin’s actual treatment of adolin in wor, he’s grumpy and a little distant but he doesn’t actually antagonize adolin, while, for the first part of wor at least, adolin actively antagonizes him (calling him names, etc.) consider this specific conversation in ch 68 where adolin says “you’re good at military thinking, for a bridgeboy” and kaladin responds with “coincidentally, you’re good at not being unobnoxious, for a prince.” and once adolin’s out of earshot, shallan starts lecturing kaladin about his “”bad attitude”” because he insulted adolin.  even though it was a response to adolin specifically making a joke involving kaladin’s trauma / class status. and then kaladin points out that adolin calls him bridgeboy, and shallan completely dismisses him. the entire conversation reads like a microagression and kaladin’s anger gets completely shut down. kaladin’s general bitterness is viewed as a bigger problem than the lighteyes’ casual racism. this is a pattern in wor: it fundamentally views marginalized anger as both (a) unjustified and (b) unhealthy, which i think is a major flaw in sanderson’s perspective

[lostdreamlanddancer]

my dreams are now au self insert stormlight fanfiction

I was in this house with all of my traveling companions and I think we’d just gotten back from like a “battle” or whatever

I realize that my traveling buddies are Stormlight characters

Like Shallan, Adolin, Lopen, Renarin, Kaladin... I think my bestfriend and her bf were there too?

Anyway we were at Shallan’s dad’s house. But in my dream he wasn’t dead. He was really just a slightly insane hermit and his house looked like idk a house from our world. Just a house. He had put a bunch of mattresses into one room for us all to sleep in. And this room had a lofted section and there were four  mattresses up there and like 4 more on the ground. 

Moving on 

I ran into Kaladin in the hallway while I was doing laundry and we were talking

And I asked him how he was doing and I told him it was okay if he said he wasn’t okay. I wouldn’t pry if he didn’t want me to I just wanted to know how he was actually feeling 

And he was like I think I’m ready to be in a relationship now if you are

And I was like oh my gods yes!

Then he like picked me up and hugged me and I remember it being really tight and safe feeling and I thought wow he’s super strong how is my dream simulating that so well? 

Then I was like okay but Kal how are you actually feeling?

And he looked at me and said I’m with you now so I’m fantastic

And I was like lol how cheesy

Then Shallan walked up and was like *gasp* y’all are finally dating?!?!

AND THAT’S WHEN IT HIT ME I’m date Kaladin Fricking Stormblessed my best friend will never let me hear the end of this. 

Then Kal and I went and sat on our bed and I read him Mistborn and tried to explain to him that he was a book character

[catgirlthecrazy]

So one of the things that really endeared Veil to me in Rhythm of War is all her "protective older sister" moments with Shallan. Veil protects Shallan from the horrors of her past, but she also lovingly but firmly encourages Shallan to find the strength to face that past. This even extends to how Veil relates to the people Shallan cares about (e.g. telling the barmaid to fuck off when she tries pressuring a depressed Kaladin into drinking).

It's made me realize: Veil to some extent is the older sibling Shallan wishes she had growing up. One strong enough to stand up to her father and protect everyone from his abuse (unlike Balat, Wikim, and Jushu). One who wouldn't abandon her to hang out with the Skybreakers (unlike Helaran).